Susan’s involvement in 4-H didn’t end with her kids graduating. She valued the impact of the 4-H program on our youth and continued to grow her involvement within the program. She took on various roles within the Kiowa Community 4-H club, serving as the Swine leader and Photography leader, for the club and the county. She also assisted John Baker in the poultry barn when her son Jake was involved, and worked alongside Dawn Williams as a coach for the Livestock QuizBowl. Together, Susan and Dawn’s Quiz Bowl teams achieved remarkable success, winning two state championships, two reserve state championships, and participation in two National competitions. Additionally, she has volunteered with both the livestock judging team and has been a member of the Elbert County Young Homemakers Extension club for over 30 years, a club that is very active every year as county fair volunteers. Her dedication and contributions have earned her several recognitions, including the Friend of 4-H Award, the Partner of 4-H, and now, the role of serving as the 2025 Elbert County Fair Parade Marshall.
Susan has enriched the lives of the Elbert County 4-H families through the pictures she’s taken and shared for over 10 years. She cherishes the importance of capturing memories for kids and their parents during the event that they worked so hard to get to all year. She attends almost every event during fair week to take candid photos during the shows and events. This leads to late nights editing and compiling thousands of photos that she then shares with everyone through the Elbert County Fair Photos Facebook page and group. Susan puts together the fair slideshow that is showcased every year at the 4-H Awards Banquet, and took photos for the Junior Livestock Auction for 11 years, always managing to get every sale photo printed by Saturday for the Sale Committee to add to the plaques given to the buyers.
Susan’s capacity for remembering 4-Hers throughout the years is a quality to appreciate. You can show her a picture of any kid involved throughout the program over the last 20 years, and she will probably know who they are and something about them. Her talent and passion for photography are only an avenue to building community and friendships with everyone that she meets. She carries Fair memories of hundreds of families inside her camera and close to her heart.
Susan has always been a friendly face at the Elbert County Fair. Her commitment to the Fair shows the true spirit of leadership and passion she has for the 4-H program that serves our youth. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Susan has contributed a library to the history of the Elbert County Fair.